


meaningless

by saretus



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Except a good bear hug by Gladio, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, RIP, The Ring Strikes Again, grieving and loss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-05-16 11:01:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19316845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saretus/pseuds/saretus
Summary: Fill for: 'I feel like this possibility gets talked about a lot, but I don't think I've ever actually seen a fic about it, and now I kind of want an AU where Ignis dies in Altissia and Noct has to mourn him. It can be in addition to Luna (or she can survive because handwave reasons).+ unresolved Ignoct'





	meaningless

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt [here](https://ffxv-kinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/4747.html?thread=9161611#cmt9161611).
> 
> Literally a year and a few months ago this was prompted... it got filled eventually I guess 8D

_More_.

His heart thrums. Agony pulses with the power running through his veins. The Ring of the Lucii burns on his finger, and he chances a look down to ensure it hasn’t burnt away his limbs too early. As it stands, though, he can’t let himself fall apart. Not when the Prophecy will kill Noct. Not when what he’s seen in his mind’s eye will come to pass.

 _I need more power_.

“This is a futile effort!” Ardyn’s voice is a constant jeer a few metres away from him. Ignis ignores that, lets lightning consume the keen steel of his daggers, before he’s zipping towards Ardyn in a flurry. Ardyn takes every single blow, the charcoal ichor drawing Ignis’ gaze and blows, but nothing seems to faze the immortal. Nothing at all.

_Please._

Ignis feints out of the way of a casual swipe from Ardyn and darts forward to dig the points of his daggers into Ardyn’s chest. The cursed being only smiles, darkness dripping from the corners of his lips, and Ignis rapidly retreats as soon as he _feels_ the unnatural power build to an explosive wave. When it hits, it doesn’t seem like it hurts. No, the only thing currently burning away at Ignis, eating at his life force, is the Ring of the Lucii.

 _I need to save Noct_!

He wasn’t enough before. He should be now. The Lucii granted his desire when he put on the Ring, but is it enough? He’s gasping now, trying to withstand the effects, and this is far more than what Noct ever gave him, ever contracted with him. It has to work. It _has_ to.

Ignis chokes on a gasp, trying to stifle his rapid breathing, but his lungs burn with the desire for oxygen no matter how much he wants to remain composed before this creature of the Scourge. He’s hunched over, daggers gripped weakly, yet Ardyn seems no more weary than he was at the start of this fight.

“Come now, is that all the power the Lucii has to offer?” Ardyn sneers. “Or perhaps they’ve given up changing the fate of their Chosen, just as the gods have?”

“No!” Ignis’ response is a cry of desperation, no matter how much he wishes to reign in his emotions. He looks back at Noct’s prone form. Lady Lunafreya lays beside him, her hand glowing as it rests upon Noct’s side. He needs to protect them. He needs to keep Ardyn from them.

But from what he’s seen so far, Ardyn seems all-powerful. Undefeatable. It seems, at any point, Ardyn can swat him aside and lay waste to a person Ignis holds very dear to his heart.

“This is the will of the Astrals! You truly think your actions will hold any meaning?” Ardyn starts walking forward and Ignis snarls. He disappears from his place, immediately attacking Ardyn, using his momentum to tear and hack at his flesh. It works, but he keeps healing. Ignis doesn’t give up. He can’t. He keeps darting across and slicing and slashing and impaling. Ardyn doesn’t even flinch. He approaches the other two with a calmness that only sets panic to Ignis’ soul.

What if the power of the Lucii isn’t enough? What if—?!

“They cheated you as they have cheated me,” Ardyn sneers, still advancing towards the others’ prone forms. Ignis grows more desperate, more reckless, and the Ring lights him up from within, _burns_ _power_ through his veins, and Ignis feels so powerful, so much _more_ than before but it’s not enough, Ardyn isn’t stopping, he doesn’t seem to even _slow_.  “They gave you that power knowing it wouldn’t be enough to defeat me. Isn’t that sadistic of them?” Ardyn laughs, glancing at him with dark-sunken eyes. “You will die for _nothing_.”

“No, no—!” Ignis gasps out, desperate not to believe it, but even as he tries to keep harming the immortal, the evidence is already there before his eyes. Ardyn’s skin heals at an insane rate. He doesn’t even seem exhausted whereas Ignis feels as if he’s nearing the end of his fragile mortality.

“But you know what the best part of all this, is?” Ardyn hums, stopping in his tracks. Ignis staggers, limbs burnt by lightning, in front of him between Noct and Lady Lunafreya. His daggers are held loosely. His vision is wavering.

Ignis swallows. His throat is dry and cracked. “What?” he asks hoarsely. The power still thrums through his veins. He can still fight. He wants to collapse.

“I need Noct alive! I never would have killed him!” Ardyn laughs, raising his hands. “You acquired that power for no reason at all!”

Ignis stares at him. He struggles to draw in air. His lungs burn with the exertion, and there’s a sharp pain at his heart. The Ring of the Lucii slowly stops glowing. “You…” he whispers, despair threading through his form and features.

“Admittedly, I did plan to kill Lady Lunafreya, but she will die a slow death all the same.” Ardyn chuckles, turning away, his arms half-raised as if to give a flair for his departure. “But your death will be enough. Don’t think I didn’t notice how you both fawned over one another. It’s a rather poorly concealed crush you have on your dear Prince.” Ardyn snorts. “Now you’ll have him mourning you. But not to worry, he’ll die eventually, whether by my hand or the Prophecy’s.” Ardyn pauses to smile at him. “ _Well done_.”

“ _No_ —!” Ignis gives out a short sob and he staggers forward. The Ring doesn’t burn anymore. A horrifying numbness creeps up his body. “No, come back here and _fight me_ …!”

“Bye-bye for now!” Ardyn’s grin is wide as he turns to wave down an Imperial airship. It’s all Ignis can do to take another few steps forward. His vision swims. By the time it’s steady again, the airship is taking Ardyn away.

“No…” he whispers, falling to his knees. He’s failed. The numbness sweeps through his body, blissfully taking away the pain, but all he feels is dread. He glances back at Noct and Lady Lunafreya, and his heart throbs so much he wants to cry, to shout at the heavens, to spare him _Noct_ because Noct deserves so much more than dying. “No…” he breathes out again, and flakes of light distracts him. They rise, up and up. More follow it, and he looks down to see his fingers have gone.

His skin, flesh, and bone start peeling away. It doesn’t hurt. He feels something like peace even though his mind is anything but. He chokes on a sob. He’s dying. The Ring is taking away his life.

His arms disappear into ash, fading with the wind. His expression crumbles, and he sits back on his legs. He doesn’t keep in his crying anymore. He can’t. He’s failed, after all.

“I-Iggy—?!”

His heart leaps for a moment, thinking it’s Noct. But its not, upon a second of further thought. He doesn’t try turning around. He’s afraid he’ll drift away faster if he does. Instead, Prompto runs up before him, looking panicked. Gladio is behind him, he imagines, checking on Noct’s health. That’s good. It’s just too bad Ignis couldn’t prevent the futility of it.

He chokes out another sob, bowing his head as his legs start to crumple away into nothing. Prompto watches him with wide eyes, looking like he wants to grab Ignis and keep him there.

“Iggy? Iggy, what do I do?!” Prompto whispers, falling to his knees before him. His hands dart here and there but don’t quite touch him.

“What the hell is happening to him?!” Gladio snarls out, distraught in his anger.

Prompto shakes his head before Ignis. “I don’t—I don’t know! Hold on, Iggy, just don’t—don’t go…!”

“Protect him…” Ignis whispers, bowing his head. His chest turns to ash. His mind is fading. He’s going to be at peace but nothing about this is peaceful. “P-please don’t let him die…!”

“Yeah, hey, we’ve got him. It’s okay…” Prompto says rapidly, tearing up. He’s reaching out with both his hands, afraid to worsen whatever is happening. “Just stay here? Please? He’s—he’s going to wake up and you won’t be there…!”

 _You died for_ nothing _._

“Gods…” Ignis cries. He can’t help it. Tears run down his face even as his neck crumbles.

“Iggy…!” Gladio calls hoarsely. Ignis turns his head. Noct catches his eye instead. He’s sleeping. Frowning, more like, yet blissfully unaware of everything that will come.

They won’t be able to stop the Prophecy, Ignis knows with certainty, and their cries fall on deaf ears as he closes his eyes.

_I’m so sorry, Noct…_

He fades.

* * *

 

“Noct, I—”

Iggy seems to be struggling with words. Noctis watches him with a frown and steps forward. He wants to reach out and draw him into his arms. He wants to kiss away the tears starting to appear at the corners of his eyes.

He wants so much. He can’t have anything.

“It’s okay, Specs,” Noctis says quietly. This is a dream, isn’t it? What he does shouldn’t matter. So he reaches forward, resolving to be content with closely comforting the imaginary Iggy. “Whatever it is, it’s okay.”

“It’s not,” Iggy gasps out, wiping at his eyes furiously. “I can’t—I can’t help you. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…” He takes a step back. Then another.

Fear suddenly grips Noctis’ heart. Iggy’s suddenly fading before him. His limbs are turning to ash.

“What’s going on?” Noctis asks. He tries moving towards Iggy, but his legs feel stuck, rooted to the ground. He reaches out a hand instead. “Iggy? Iggy, what’s going on?!”

“I’m sorry,” Iggy repeats, and he holds up a hand.

The Ring of the Lucii glows on his finger. As Noctis watches, his flesh crumples to nothing, and a cry of despair leaves him. Suddenly, it feels as if everything is final. Iggy’s going, but Noctis hasn’t said everything he’s wanted to him. He hasn’t been able to tell him, hasn’t been able to express this one single thing—!

“Ignis!” Noctis shouts, and—

Reaches his hand towards the ceiling.

Tears trail from his eyes. He’s panting hard. His heart throbs in his chest. His other hand clenches around something and he lifts the object up, knowing already what it is.

The Ring glints back at him.

“Hey…” Prompto says from the bedside. He’s sitting on the chair, smiling weakly at Noctis. “Glad you’re awake now.” His tone is off. Quiet.

Grieving, maybe.

Noctis thinks back to Ignis. He thinks back to the apology. It feels so fresh in his mind. And the last thing he remembers—

“Is everyone okay?” His voice is hoarse. He wants to see Luna. He wants to see Iggy and Gladio. He wants to talk to Iggy, alone. He wants a lot of things.

“Lady Lunafreya’s resting,” Prompto reports, “Gladio’s helping round up the citizens that didn’t evacuate in time and aiding in the rescue efforts.”

There’s something he isn’t saying. Noctis swallows, but he knows already in his heart what it is. He wants Prompto to say it, though. He _needs_ him to. But then, he doesn’t know what he’ll do if he hears it. If Prompto confirms the truth.

Prompto doesn’t say anything, though. It seems to catch in his throat.

Noctis sits up slowly and hugs his knees to his chest. He stares blankly forward at the bedsheets.

“Iggy’s dead, isn’t he?”

The words linger in the air, heavy. The visceral truth is there, lying in wait for Prompto for catch them and throw them back at Noctis. The fact that Prompto doesn’t say anything, though, is more than enough and perhaps even worse than if he had said anything.

“I’m sorry,” Prompto chokes out, wiping at his eyes furiously. “He—he said to protect you and—”

He says something else. There’s a buzzing in Noctis’ ears that white out his words. Instead, he stays still, and lets the truth wash over him. Let’s the numbness run through him. His heart aches, anyway.

“Go away,” he says. Mumbles. Wants to shout. Prompto stands immediately and moves towards the door. He hesitates. Noctis turns his gaze away and doesn’t hear Prompto leave.

He doesn’t know how long he sits there. The Ring is still in his hand. He wonders how Ignis died, but then figures it doesn’t matter. Ignis is gone. He’s gone. He won’t be around anymore. He won’t be there to hear Noctis say what he wants to say.

His dream had been a farewell.

Slowly, Noctis buries his face in his knees. He doesn’t cry.

* * *

“Where’s his body?”

Gladio looks perturbed when confronted with the question. “Gone,” he says hoarsely, as if he’d been crying. At least he’s been crying more than Noctis has. It’d been his aim here to see if the numbness would be driven away by seeing the reality of the situation. Ignis doesn’t deserve that, after all. He doesn’t deserve apathy.

“How?” Noctis asks flatly. He stares at the floor. Luna’s out there with the wounded right now. She’d tried talking to Noctis in his comatose state, but he hadn’t been able to respond.

“The Ring,” Gladio says, and Noctis’ heart clenches at the reminder. That particular heirloom burns in his pocket as a reminder of Ignis’ death, and now it will be a permanent symbol of it. “He wore it to protect you and Lady Lunafreya.”

“Oh,” Noctis mumbles. He can’t muster anymore than that. Gladio seems to understand. He starts to leave but then hesitates. He moves towards Noctis and hugs him, harder than he ever has, before stepping away and heading out the door.

Noctis stands there for a moment. Then crumples to the floor.

Ignis faded away. There’s no body to bury. The Ring took him.

Noctis takes it out, then. Looks at it and turns it over and over in his hand. He wants to destroy it, but it’s important, isn’t it? It’s part of his family. It leeched away his dad’s life. It stole Ignis’.

He chokes on a sob, then. He tears up, then throws the Ring violently against the opposite wall. It clinks to the floor, innocent, and Noctis presses the palms of his hands to his eyes, trembling hard. He’s gasping, crying, and he wants Ignis back, he wants him back _so much_ —

“Iggy…” he whispers, sobbing harder, and clutches his chest where his heart is. It hurts so much. There were things he wanted to say to him. There were so many things.

He cries, and keeps crying. He wants to die.

**Author's Note:**

> idk man 8'(


End file.
